Neighborhoods

The Youngstown Housing Task Force has filed complaints with
city and state agencies seeking the license revocation and the closure of three
group homes operated by Alfreda Atkins.

Atkins said one of the homes in question, 3497 Kiwatha Road,
never opened and another, 3520 Glenwood Ave., was closed in April.

Atkins said she’s living at the third home, 862 Canfield
Road, and she’s working to take care of issues there.

The task force — a coalition of faith leaders and concerned
citizens who seek safe, fair and quality housing in the city — has targeted
properties its members consider are owned by bad landlords.

The task force filed complaints — including petitions with
more than 100 signatures — regarding the three homes with the Youngstown City
Health District and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction
Services. The complaints against Atkins, operator of Faith Temple Community
Outreach Homes, are for “gross neglect of the living environment and care needs
of residents of these (three) facilities.”

To read the full story from Vindy.com, click here.

Two days after receiving over 100 signatures on a petition the
Ohio Department of Mental Health has set a revocation hearing for the license
of a group home operator in Youngstown.

The date scheduled is February 27, 2020.

Members of the Youngstown Housing Task Force collected over
100 signatures from people who want to see the Ohio Department of Mental Health
shut down a group home on Canfield Road.

The task force compiled over 120 pages of records
documenting problems through the local health department, police records, and
state inspections.

Jack Daughtery a member of the Youngstown Housing Task Force
said, "The living environment there is not where anyone should have to
live anywhere in our neighborhoods."

To read the full story by WFMJ, click here.

Monday, October 21, 2019

On Monday, October 21, Chemical Bank awarded YNDC a $20,000 grant for YNDC's Free HUD Approved Housing Counseling Program.

As a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency, YNDC offers pre- and post-purchase one-on-one counseling services and online education, to assist low- to moderate-income city residents identify and overcome barriers to homeownership, including inadequate savings, income, credit history, and understanding of the home buying process and prepare them for future homeownership, and to provide existing low- to moderate-income homeowners with resources to maximize their limited incomes and minimize repair costs so that they can avoid foreclosure and improve their living conditions.

 Many thanks to Chemical Bank for their support of this critical free service! REVITALIZE.

Monday, October 21, 2019

On Monday, October 21, the Ward Beecher Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to YNDC for additional improvements to the Glenwood Business Center.

This project will complete the renovation of the Glenwood Business Center and is part of ongoing efforts to stabilize and revitalize the Greater Glenwood Avenue Corridor. Many thanks to the Ward Beecher Foundation for the support! REVITALIZE.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

On Monday, October 14,
sixteen Chemical Bank employees volunteered with YNDC during the bank’s annual
Chemical Cares Day to begin the revitalization of 741 Winona Drive, a vacant
home that will be fully renovated to create a quality affordable housing
opportunity.

The volunteers removed over 40 yards of debris from in and around the
property in preparation for YNDC’s construction team to begin rehabilitation of
the home in the coming weeks. Thank you to the Chemical Bank team for caring
about our community! REVITALIZE.

Jenn Kendall is the Housing Program Manager for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. Jenn collaborates with a team of professional staff to implement YNDC's Essential Repair and Roof Replacement programs and assists with the administration of YNDC's Strategic Acquisition and Rehabilitation program.

Prior to joining the YNDC team, Jenn obtained 9 years of experience as Office Manager at Interfaith Home Maintenance Service where she was responsible for entering payables and receivables, generating monthly reports, processing payroll, and requesting money from funders. Jenn prepared materials for program and financial audits as well as maintained all program records.

Jenn was named a 2023 Gems of the Valley Honoree by the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley. 

Jenn lives in Sharon, Pennsylvania with her partner, Keith, and son, Wyatt. 

Contact Jenn at jevans@yndc.org. 

An abandoned apartment complex on Broadway owned by the city caught fire and quickly went up in flames.

The wind carried the flames next door to a home being renovated by Robert Pilolli. Pilolli said, "I bought it in 2015 and have been working on renovating it. Members of the Wick Park Neighborhood Association have done a lot of work to try and make this area better. The building has been empty for over ten years, and they haven't done anything with it. The city owns it. We have had problems with vagrants going in and out. We kept it boarded up, and YNDC, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, has come here and boarded it up.

To see the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and partners will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house at 10 a.m. Nov. 1 to celebrate the completion of the organization’s first new home construction project.

To read the full story from Mahoning Matters, click here.

Jeff Kramer is a Housing Project Inspector for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. Jeff screens properties for necessary repairs, writes up project specifications, inspects completed repairs, and communicates deficiencies.

Contact Jeff at jkramer@yndc.org. 

Friday, October, 25, 2019

On Tuesday, October 22, nearly 40 resident leaders, including several landlords, participated in a training on code enforcement organized by the Youngstown Housing Task Force.

The training provided an overview of the City of Youngstown's code enforcement inspection and appeals process, the rental registration and license program, and various enforcement tools that can be used to bring problem properties into compliance. The training reviewed what residents can do to address problem properties in their neighborhoods, including the the step-by-step process for reporting a property code violations, checking the status of an existing code enforcement case, and identifying problem property owners. The event was discussion-driven, providing many with the opportunity to ask questions, gain more knowledge, and provide feedback. 

This is the first of a series of trainings to be sponsored by the Youngstown Housing Task Force covering topics related to housing quality. The purpose of these trainings is to build a common understanding of housing quality issues and the tools and strategies that can be used to address them as the Task Force begins developing a citywide housing policy agenda.